Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-03-05
THE DEMON OF THE FIRE.
An Unpublished Poem-By Edgar Altar
Poe.

II is well known that the author of TIL
Raven made previous 10 the puDlcation o
:. The Belis, IN its completed form, as nov
issued in the published works OF the poet,
study of his greatest descriptive poem, am
printed it in popular magazine long before IN
work appeared in It's present form. ~ oIlglnall..
of but sixteen lines, while the reVlse'
version was built up to over 100. me puDlisne'
history Of THE Raven" should, 1t now seems
include the account of juvenile poem by roe
written when be was Is years OF age, Whlle
student Of the University of Virginia ines
verses: which the author then named " The De
mon Of the Fire" contain obvious suggestion
of the alliterate word painting adopted VIII
powerful effect in - The Raven and both Il
their rhythm and in the atmosphere OF IN
supernatural investing them are Significant
suggestive of the weird and fateiul picture
limned with so mastery hand in The Raven
The original copy of these verses was given b
Poe to one of his Southern companions at IN
University. The poem has never been PUT
lished.
THE DEMON OF THE FIRE.
In the deepest death of midnight,
While the sad and solemn swell
Still was floating, family echoed
From the forests chapel beiii
Family, ALTERING, floating,
Ger the sable waves Of air,
That were through the midnight rolling,
Chafed and billowy with the tolling,
In my chamber lay dreaming,
or a heart foredoomed to care.
As the last long lingering echo
OF the meningitis mystic chime,
Lisping through the sable billow
OF the thither shore Of time,
Leaving on the starless silence
Not shadow OF trace,
In Il Quivering sigh departed
From my couch, in tear, started
Started to my fee. in terror
For my dreams phantasnal error
Painted in the fitiul fire
A frightul, fendish, flaming face.
On the red hearthis reddest center,
Fran blazing knot of oak.
Seemed to grin and gibe the phantom,
AS in terror | awoke,
And my slumbering eyelids stralnlng
AS struggled 10 the floor
Still in that dread vision seeming,
Turned my gaze toward the cleaning
Hearth, and then, o God saw II,
And from its flaming jaws 1t
Spat ceaseless, seething kissing,
Bubbling, gurgling stream Of gore
SPECIFICS, struck with stony silence,
Frozen to the floor stood,
Till my very brain seemed kissing
With that Kissing bubbling blood,
Till felt my life Stream oozing,
Oozing from those lambert lips,
Till the demon seemed to name me,
Then q wondrous calm o ercame me,
And fell back on my pillow,
In apparent soul eclipse.
Thus, as in deaths seeming shadows,
In the icy pail of fear,
lay stricken, came a hoarse and
Hideous nurinur to my ear,
Came murmur like the murmur
OF assassins in their sleep,
Muttering higher, higher, higher,
- am demon of the fire,
am arch fiend of the fire,
And each blazing roofs my pyre
nd mn
The blood and tears my victims weep.
'How I reyel on the prairie,
How roar amidst the pines,
How laugh as from the village,
Ger the snow the red flame shines,
How hear the shrek OF terror,
With a life in every breath,
How scream with lambent laughter
As Il hurl each cracking rafter
Down the fell abyss of fire,
Until higher. higher, higher,
Leap the high priests OF my altar,
In their merry dance OF death.
AZ am monarch of the fire,
l am royal King of death
World encirciing with the shadow
OF its doom upon my breath,
With the symbol of hereafter
Cleaning from my fatal face
command the eternal fire.
Higher higher, higher, higher.
Leap my Ininistering demons
Like phantasmagoric lemans.
Hugging universal nature
In their hideous embrace"
Then a somber silence shut me
In her solemn, shrouded sleep,
And slumbered like an infant,
in the cradle of the deep,
Till the belfry from the forest
Trembled with the matin stroke;
And the martins from the edge
OF their lichen hidden ledge
Shimmered through the russell arches,
While the light, in torn files marches,
Like a routed army struggling
Through the serried ranks OF oak.
Through my open fretted easement
Filtered in tremulous note,
From the tall and shady linden,
Where the robin swelled his throat,
Tiny wooer, brave breasted robin,
Quantity calling for his mate.
From my slumber,. nightmare ridden,
With the memory of that dire
Demon in my central fire,
In my eyes interior mirror
Like the shadow of fate.
But the fiendish fire had smoidered
To white and formless heap,
And no knot of oak was blazing
AS it blazed upon my sleep.
But on the red hearth's reddest centre,
Where the demons face had shown.
The shadowy lightning seemed to lingeri
And to point with specter tipger
To Bible, massive, golden
On table carved and olden,
And bowed and said: All power
Is of God, and God alone
From Ncto orleans Pieoyllae,